PSYC 1260 – Myra’s Personality Analysis Using Psychoanalytic Theory

Myra’s Personality Based on Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory

According to Freud, human behavior is the outcome of the collaborations among three element sections of mind that include superego, ego, and id. The most primitive of the three is the id, since it is concerned with immediate gratification of primary physical urges and needs. Id’s operations are exclusively unconscious. Ego is the pragmatic, rational part of individual personality. It is partly unconscious, partly conscious and less primitive compared to the id. It is regarded as ‘self’, and its main purpose is to balance superego and id demands in the practical reality context. Superego on the other hand is concerned with social morals and rules and it is regard as conscience. It grows as a child learns what his or her culture regards as wrong or right (Boundless, 2006).

Based on the case study, Myra personality can be said to be ruled by her superego. This is because she tends to base her life more on what she was taught by her parents to be right. This condition is caused by the way Myra was brought up and what she was made to believe in her young age. For instance, Myra was taught more about cleanliness by her mother, who insisted on perfection such that Myra could be punished for not attaining the anticipated degree of cleanliness. Myra mother made her believe that cleaning the house was women’s role and thus she took it all through as her responsibility.

Myra Adaptation of Cleaning Role Based on Jungian Analytical Theory

Myra feels that cleaning the house is her responsibility because this is what she was taught by her parents when she was young. Her mother adopted the role of cleaning the house all the time and she taught Myra on how to do it, making her believe that being a female, it is  her gender role to ensure house cleanliness. This made Myra take it as her duty to clean the house after she was married. Similar to Freud, Jung believed that the mid have both unconscious and conscious levels. However, Jung asserted strongly that the most significant aspect of the unconscious originate not from individual personal experience, but from the human existence distant past, a concept known as the collective unconscious. According to Jung people are motivated not just by suppressed experience but also by particular experiences that are emotionally toned inherited from the ancestors. In this case, Myra cleaning behavior according to Jung could have initiated by the inherited emotionally toned experience from her ancestors which make the collective unconscious (Mitchell, 2015b).

Myra’s Personality Based on Adler’s Individual Theory

According to Adler’s individual theory presents a positive view of individuals while heavily resting on the idea of social interest; oneness feeling with all mankind. In Adler’s view individuals are mostly motivated by social influences and the struggling for success or superiority. He also believed that individuals are highly responsible for their personality, and that individual present behavior is molded by individuals’ perception of the future. Based on the Adler’s theory, Myra personality can be regarded as a person choice based on how she would like her future to be. Myra focused more on saving money for her family and she did this by covering her furnishers, avoiding luxurious life, and focusing on spending on individuals who will return the favor. This can be described as a character she chooses to ensure her family financial well-being in the future. She also finds it unnecessary to keep friends who do not seems to benefit her financially. This cannot be regard as unconscious act but a path she has selected for the sake of her family’s future (Mitchell, 2015a).

According to Adler, behavior, emotion, feeling, and thinking can only be comprehended as subordinated to the person’s life style, or constant pattern of handling life. Thus, Myra behavior of getting rid of her friends by being rude, shouting at them, or refusing to call them can only be interpreted according to Adler as her life style. In addition, the house cleaning addiction can only be perceived as her lifestyle and not anything influenced by her past or as a result of inheritance based on Adler’s view.

Myra’s Personality Based on Erik Erikson

According to Erikson each human being passes through eight stages to attain full development. In every stage an individual hopefully masters, and confront, new challenges. In ability to master and confront stage challenges as required brings about life conflicts. Thus based on Erickson theory, Myra is suffering from life conflicts brought about by inability to resolve challenges presented in her fifth stage of growth which is the adolescence stage. Myra experienced a lot of parents involvement in her life such that she was forced to conform to what they believed was right and was unable to explore and define herself. As a result she was so sensitive to her sexual identity and gender roles. She also has unresolved conflicts in her fourth stage of growth in primary school since she still feels necessary to justify herself worth compared to her friends and she can easily get rid of them through rude words of shouting in case she feels inferior to them and justify how good she is and cannot understand why her friends cannot see that. This is a character highly portrayed in the fourth stage of growth based on Erikson theory (Sharkey, 1997).

Therapy Perspective and Corresponding Form

In my views, Erik Erikson and Freud perspectives would be the best forms of perspective that would be used to handle Myra’s case. Myra has unresolved stages conflicts which affects her life even today. She has also acquired some characters from her mother which determines her lifestyle today. Thus, the two can be used to resolver her personality issues.

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